The GPRS has been developed to communicate internet packets via a radio access interface. A GPRS network can be formed using a Global System for Mobiles (GSM) or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) backbone network. GPRS provides support for packet-orientated services and attempts to optimise network and radio resources for packet data communications such as for example Internet Protocol (IP). The GPRS provides a logical architecture, which is related to the circuit switched architecture of a mobile radio system.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a body which is responsible for developing internet protocols for facilitating communications via the internet. For example, a well established internet protocol is the internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) which has been developed and standardised for personal computers to access the internet. The IETF has also developed a further standard known as the internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) which provides an improvement with respect to the IPv4 in terms of facilitating mobile communications and increased addressing options for user equipment. Whilst there are similarities between IPv4 and IPv6, a packet radio network which has been established to support IPv4 will expect internet packets according to the IPv4 and not IPv6.